Total Pageviews

3/27/2017

The 4th
extra short term joint staff training and learning activity in Bad Teinach
Zavelstein Germany has been conducted and concluded with great success. 13
professionals, coordinators and participants, from each of the countries of the
partnership, met in Bad Teinach Zavelstein from the 13th of March
until the 17th of March 2017 to share good practices and therefore
improve the quality of their institutions or methods on their return.

The German
partners have set an example for imitation regarding the outstanding
hospitality, the excellent organization, the training programme, their
education and culture. The welcoming of the partnership was heartily, warm and
sincere. Heike Eichbauer, the German coordinator with the cooperation of all her
colleagues had prepared a unique programme, with truly inspiring activities and
workshops, interactive and highly educational. The week we spent in the school
was called “project week” where pupils were engaged with different workshops
and projects which at the end of the week were presented to the parents and
guests with “an open day” celebration.

Sunday
12.3.2017 was the day of the arrival of all the members of the partnership in
Germany. In the evening we all met in the welcoming dinner feeling happy for a
new educational adventure started again.

On Monday
13.3.2017 early in the morning we met at Karl Georg school for the official
welcoming from all the pupils and colleagues. The school band sang for our
beautiful songs and the Principal of the school Ilse Dieterle welcomed us and
introduced us to the school staff and pupils. The “project week” had just
started for the pupils.

Pupil’s representatives
and teachers gave us a tour around the school in order to get familiar with our
place of work for the rest of the week and also see the classes and workshops.
Heike Eichbauer and the Assistant Principal of the school Mr Helmar Schartner,
introduced us to the German Special Education System through a power point
presentation. Discussion followed.

At noon we
visited the town Calw where we were welcomed by the Regionaldistrictauthorities.
We were introduced to the town of Calw and the district of Baden Wurttemberg,
to the educational functions of the district and their general purpose. The
district commissionaire outlined the importance of such strategic partnerships
aiming to development at this difficult time of European economical crisis.

Followed, a
tour around the wonderful town of Calw where we used GPS devises and while
following the hidden clues we had a big walk around the old town learning about
its history and biographical information about the great author Hermann Hesse.

Later on, we
attended the official opening day of the exhibition “Birdman” at the local bank
Kreissparkasse Calw. The artist, Hans Langer best known as “Birdman” presented
pieces of his work with the collaboration of Karl Georg School.

Tuesday
morning at school (14.3.2017) we were divided into two groups and participated
in turns in the workshops “Drums” with the artist Yayantha Gomez and “Instant
Art” with the artist Hans Langer – “Birdman”. The artists though their arts and
techniques motivated us all, partners, pupils and colleagues to participate
lively and energetic and to express ourselves unconditionally. It was truly an
amazing experience.

The well
organized programme combined school and cultural activities improving in this
way our knowledge about the cultural heritage of the host country while at the
same time obtaining a better understanding of the development of arts through
the years.

Thus, later on at noon, we visited the village Bad Wildbadwhere we used the funicular railway and had a walk in the treetop admiring the marvelous spectacle of the Black Forest in the surrounding area.

In the
afternoon the coordinators of all the countries had the standard meeting as it
was necessary to assess our work so far, to discuss the course and progress of
our activities and to plan future activities. The muse Thalia, the mascot of
our project, was delivered by the Romanian coordinator Mariana Hertoiu to the
German coordinator Heike Eichbauer, in order for her to explore a new European
culture and to attend new classes, courses and activities.

Late in the
afternoon, the “dancing ladies of Zavelstein” welcomed us in the Town Hall
while wearing traditional costumes. They introduced us to folk dancing and
treated us with tasteful delicacies. A guided night tour to the medieval castle
of Bad Teinach Zavelstein was the absolute closure for this long and wonderful
day.

Wednesday 15.3.2017started with a long morning walk to the nature reserve Kaltenbronn
in the Black Forest and a visit to Baden Baden the traditional spa town. The
most wonderful moment of this outdoor activity was the visit to the interactive
music museum for children “Toccarion”. The
experience was unique, educational and truly fun. The guide through interactive
activities introduced us the world of music and musical instruments, of music
composition and feelings that arise through the music.

On Thursday 16.3.2017 we were divided into small
groups and we all participated in different workshops of the “project week”. In
the “natural colors” workshop, pupils made colors while using natural
ingredients e.g. strawberries, spinach, carrots etc and with this they painted
blouses, fabrics and papers of different texture with the most amazing outcome.
In the “basket weaving” workshop we made along with the kids baskets which were
all sold at the end of the week. In the “cooking workshop” pupils made sweets
and flavored butter which were also sold at the “open day”. In the “journalist
workshop” pupils used high tech microphone recorders and interviewed the pupils
while working on their projects. In the “photography workshop” pupils
accompanied by teachers took photos of their classmates and workshops. In the
“dancing workshop” pupils and dancing teachers improvised dances while the
music changed. The final outcome was presented at the “open day” celebration.
In the “painting workshop” pupils and partners were taught on painting
techniques. In the “black light theatre” workshop, pupils became actors and
with the use of special lights in a dark room rehearsed on a fantastic play
concerning the emotions.

Last, we all participated in the “Circus” workshop where with the help of a professional juggling we practiced on circus skills in a fun and interactive way.

All these workshops demonstrate methodologies and specialized techniques aiming to the improvement of the the expressive abilities of the pupils, on their social behavior and development, encourage their personal development, the expression of their feelings, awareness, and develop social and human skills.

In the afternoon we visited the city of Stuttgart, which is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

On Friday 17.3.2017 early in the
morning we visited the sheltered workshops of people with special needs in
Calw. Our German partners highlight the great importance of independent living
and work for the people with special needs after finishing school. For this
reason they have created 700 workshops around Germany for their professional
activity and employment in order to have an autonomous or semi autonomous life.
They also provide sheltered homes for the people with severe disabilities.
Their aim is for everybody to work and feel equal members of the society. The
GWW factory is a good example in terms of quality, infrastructure and
methodology. They have over 1000 customers among them the Mercedes Benz.

Later on, we
had a quick tour around the village Bad Teinach and a visit to the noodles
manufactory to taste some delicious handmade noodles.

At noon we participated in the “School's
Open Day” for the presentation of all workshops to parents and guests. It was held
in the cultural center of Bad Teinach Zavelstein. It was a 3-hour program where
pupils presented all the outcomes of the weekly workshops in which they were
involved like dance, drums, circus, black theater and the show was absolutely spectacular.
At the same time, there were exhibitions of the creations of the pupils with the
artist Birdman, baskets and delicacies which could be bought. Guests also had
the opportunity to participate in blind painting lessons proving that everyone
can draw.

This
wonderful last day ended with the farewell dinner which was truly special. Initially
the German coordinator Heike Eichbauer, the director of the school Ilse
Dieterle and the Deputy Director Helmar Schartner gave to each partner team the
certificate of attendance. It was truly a touching moment for all, full of
wishes and promises to meet again soon. The party that followed was full of
fun, dance, joy, excitement and thrill as one more successful mobility had come
to an end. We renewed our appointment for Slovenia in May and with our suitcases
full of experiences we started the next day our trip back home.

See you in Slovenia coordinators :-)

The educational staff of the school Karl Georg gave us a heartfelt farewell. It was apparent the friendship and strong bonds that have developed further among all participants as we shared together a wonderful week highly educational and fun.We sincerely thank our dear
colleagues from Germany for this perfect mobility, the well-structured program,
the variety of activities and actions, the impeccable hospitality, the unique
experiences and the exchange of good practices. They set an example for all of
us and gave us the opportunity to feel and learn how to express through Art, to
communicate and socialize and to get to know this little wonderful piece of
Germany.

Greek team

Polish team

Romanian team

Slovenian participant

Spanish team

Mourelatou
Stamoula – Occupational Therapist

Main
Coordinator of the Erasmus+ project “ARTEMOTION XPRESS IN EUROPE”

Poster

“This project has been funded from the European Commission. This publication (communication) reflects the views only of the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein."